IntroductionLet
me come right out and say that in the 20-plus years that I have played
video games, from the Atari 2600 to the Microsoft X-Box and Sony PS2, I
have never been more enthusiastic about a video game system than the
handheld Sony PSP. This brand new, handheld gaming system from Sony is
not the most powerful game machine on the market. It packs a modest 333
MHz processor and there aren’t a great deal of games available yet, so
why am I so up on this system? The answer is simple. A video game
system is only good if you actually end up playing it. I almost always
fall for the hype and buy the newest home game systems. I currently own
an X-Box, a PS2 and a Nintendo Game Cube. I’ll probably be replacing
them with the next generation versions when they hit the streets, but I
can already tell that I’ll be playing my PSP more than all of the
aforementioned systems. All too often, I find myself getting the next
big thing in video gaming. However, in a week or so, the system ends up
collecting dust. From the moment I got my PSP a month ago, I have
probably played it more than all of my current gaming systems combined
in the last two years. For me, the PSP surpasses my Apple iPod as the
ultimate portable pastime. Whether you are sitting on the sofa watching
a baseball game or flying cross-country with nothing but time on your
hands, the PSP is pure entertainment.

With a slick-looking black finish and a ton of technology packed into
the palm of your hand, the Sony PSP features a 4.3 inch, 16:9
Widescreen TFT LCD display in the center that has a resolution of 480 x
272 pixels and is capable of displaying 16.77 million colors. The PSP
is very thin at only 0.9 inches thick. The shape is like a rectangle
with rounded ends and the dimensions are 6.7 inches wide x 2.9 inches
tall. Fans of vintage gaming systems who are familiar with the Atari
Lynx can think of the PSP as a Lynx on a diet. It weighs in at a very
comfortable and easy to hold 0.62 lbs with the battery pack installed.
This is just heavy enough to feel solid without being fatiguing to hold
for long stretches.

Priced at $250, the PSP’s current competitor is the $150 Nintendo DS
that features two screens, one stacked on top of each other. There is
more surface area on the DS screens, but there is a seam in the middle
where the unit folds up, so if action takes place on both screens, this
gap can be hindering. The PSP has a widescreen format that lends itself
to sports games, while the DS seems more at home with adventure games
where the action takes place on one screen and maps and other details
are located on the other screen. The DS has more games available and is
less expensive. However, it pales in comparison with the multimedia
capabilities of the PSP. Both the PSP and DS would probably make any
kid happy, but if an AV enthusiast wants a portable game machine to
take on the road, the PSP is the way to go.

For controlling games and menus, the PSP features standard Sony
Playstation 2 X, O, box and triangle buttons on the right side, four
directional buttons on the left and right and left buttons on the top
that are made to be pressed with each of the player’s index fingers.
Sony’s PS2 controllers feature a second directional button called the
“analog directional stick.” The PSP also features an analog control
stick that can be moved in any direction. The four directional buttons
are used more often in most games. However, a more exact sense of
control and the ability to make more subtle diagonal movements make the
analog stick a useful tool.

On the right edge of the PSP is the power button. Smartly, Sony has
created the PSP so that by pressing the off button quickly, it turns
the machine off but puts it in “standby” mode, so you can resume your
game as if you had paused it. Holding the button for three seconds
turns it completely off and you’ll need to start your game or movie
over when you turn the machine on again. On the left side is a slot for
putting in an external memory card. The PSP comes standard with a
32-meg card, but it can be upgraded to as much as two gigs. This is
very useful for storing music files and video clips, as well as saving
the data from a large number of video games.

As I kept reading through the incredibly fat instruction manual for the
PSP, the feature list is absolutely dizzying, considering the fact that
this system is about 1/20th the size of a regular laptop computer.
Wireless gaming and high speed data transfer are available via an
internal wireless 802.11b card. This will allow up to 16 PSPs to link
together for insane group gaming possibilities. A USB port on top of
the PSP lets the user connect to his or her computer and upload movie
clips, sound files and photos. Depending on the amount of data
available on the internal storage card, the PSP can also be used as a
portable slide projector. Images can be placed directly on the storage
card in the user’s computer via a media reader/writer or can be sent
over directly with the USB connection. A simple onscreen interface
gives users a great deal of control for showing images either
individually or on a timed slide show format.

The open button, home button, volume controls, brightness control,
audio control and the select and start buttons round out the controls
on the front of the PSP. The back of the unit has a round silver ring
around the word PSP. The battery cover is on one side and a small hatch
for the external memory cards is on the other. You’ll want to take care
to shut off the PSP completely before removing the external memory, as
the removal may otherwise damage the device. Some games that are loaded
completely into internal memory can be removed while the PSP is on and
the game will still continue, but the idea situation is to avoid
opening the game compartment while playing a disc.

GamingThe
PSP is a small machine, so needless to say, the game discs need to be
small as well. Utilizing a new disc format called UMD, which stands for
Universal Media Disc, the games are just a little over one inch by one
in diameter and are protected by a plastic outer shell with a small
space on the back so the laser can read the disc. Many youngsters will
be playing PSPs, so this is a brilliant way of keeping their often
grimy little fingers off of the discs and will help prevent scratching
if the games are not handled with care. They are far from
indestructible, but this design should help them last longer, provided
loose items do not fall inside the opening on the bottom of the disc.

As of this review, the Sony PSP official website lists 27 games as
being available. Sports games have always been my favorite reason to
play video games and the PSP has two real winners that anyone who is
into sports games should rush out to buy first when picking up the PSP.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour
(EA Sports) is an extremely enjoyable golf simulator that plays so much
like its PS2 big brother, just on a smaller scale, that I was almost
dumbfounded. The game has a cartoonish feel to it, with the rendering
of the players ranging from Tiger himself to any user-generated player.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour has a feature that will let you create a replica
of yourself. I bought this game on the recommendation of my best friend
who has a PSP and when I saw how closely he was able to replicate
himself, complete with the same shape of eyeglasses and same length
sideburns, I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

When
playing holes on unbelievable golf courses like Pebble Beach and the
TPC at Sawgrass, the accuracy of the layouts are staggering. Despite
the slightly cartoonish look of the players and the courses, the level
of detail that is worked into a game that is still 100 percent playable
is perfect. All too often with sports games, the action is very
disconnected from what is actually going on in the game. I can think of
several golf games that feature better graphics, but ultimately the
player pushes the right series of buttons and it cues a movie clip of
the shot taking place. With Tiger Woods for the PSP, you can put subtle
amounts of topspin on drives, hit an intentional fade or draw and can
back the ball up on the greens by putting backspin on approach shots.

Just when I didn’t think the game could get better, it did. Linking up
with my friend via the wireless network, we found ourselves wasting
countless hours battling each other in head to head Skins game for big
virtual money. Bathroom breaks were no problem as the wireless PSPs
could go anywhere in my house and our signal was never lost. The
potential for fun with race car, football, soccer, basketball or
fighting games with multiple players each having their own screen is
endless.

Baseball
season is underway and, being a Dodgers fan, I was thrilled to learn
that it is possible, thanks to the external memory cards, to play an
entire season of baseball as the Dodgers and save the games as I
progress through the year. MLB 2005
(Sony Computer Entertainment) for the PSP is bar none the best baseball
game I have ever played in my life. Various X-Box and PS2 games have
come and gone and up until playing MLB 2005 for the PSP, I considered
World Series 2002 for the old Sega Saturn to have the best combination
of playability and decent graphics. Now in 2005, all of the fine
details of every park in MLB have been created with amazing clarity and
the movements of the players on the field are just as impressive. If a
player in the outfield fields a ball on the run and the throw button is
pushed as the catch is being made, the player on screen keeps moving
and makes his throw on the run as well. If the third baseman has to
rush to field a bunt, he will make a sidearm diving throw to first.
Players on base make slides to avoid tags by the infielders and the
level of control that the game gives you when pitching is topnotch. All
of this adds up to the one addictive game that I like better than
anything I have for the X-Box or PS2.

MoviesNot
only is the PSP a truly amazing handheld gaming machine, but it is also
a portable MP3 player and, incredibly, it plays feature-length motion
pictures. When I first heard that the PSP would have the ability to
play movie discs, I figured that the resolution would have to be low
and they would not be able to include much in the way of bonus
features. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Using MPEG-4 video file
format, the PSP almost blew my mind when I cued up the demo movie
trailers included with the PSP.

Among the first wave of
movie releases for the PSP from Buena Vista Home Entertainment and
Columbia TriStar are box office stars like “Kill Bill” Volume 1," “Pirates of the Caribbean,” "Reign of Fire," “Hellboy, Director's Cut,” "House of Flying Daggers" and “XXX,”
with many more currently available and more on the way. Looking through
the decent-sized list of titles for sale, I noticed that almost all of
them include bonus features of some type that I wouldn’t have guessed
would be possible, given the size of the UMDs. Like the video game
discs, the new disc format UMD is also used for storing the video and
audio for the PSP movie discs.

It’s
not exactly like sitting down at the local cineplex or plopping down on
the couch in front of a big-screen TV, but with the head phones on, the
lights dimmed and the sound cranking, the PSP delivers a pretty damn
impressive cinematic experience when watching movies. As the vibrato
guitar strums and the haunting voice of Nancy Sinatra sings “Bang Bang,
He Shot Me Down” during the opening black and white credits of Quentin
Tarrantino’s brilliant film “Kill Bill Volume 1” (Miramax), I almost
forgot that I was looking down at a small gaming device. It made me
think back to when I was chomping at the bit to buy a Nintendo Game Boy
and the graphics were impressive to me at the time. Technology sure has
come a LONG way.

”Kill Bill” has a mixture of black and
white footage, color live action and Japanese anime. During the back
and white scenes, such as the opening shot of Uma Thurman’s Bride
character lying on the floor bleeding and clinging to life, the
contrast ratio and depth of the image was so surprisingly strong that
it made me wish my rear projection TV was as good. During the color
footage of the Bride having a kung fu battle with Vivica A. Fox’s
Vernita Green (codename: Copperhead), in a peaceful Pasadena,
California home, knives and fists fly but there are very minimal motion
artifacts. I was unsure if the PSP would be able to reproduce live
motion effectively, but as the machine had done with games, it
continued to impress.

On
the special effects juggernaut “Hellboy: Director’s Edition” (Columbia
TriStar), the PSP didn’t flinch, even in the darkest of scenes with
gigantic computer-generated monsters. Hellboy is played by former
“Beauty and the Beast” star Ron Perlman, whose red look here is a
combination of prosthetic makeup and a bit of computer-generated
imagery. In the very dark scenes where Hellboy’s red skin is in front
of a black background, the level of shadow and detail is astonishing
for such a small piece of gadgetry. The contrast ratios are not printed
on the specs, but I can say with complete certainty that the PSP looks
as good, if not better, than portable DVD players costing many times
more.

MusicUploading some MP3 files to the PSP was as simple as drag and drop from the desktop of my PC laptop. I ripped the Deftones’
new self-titled disc (Maverick) to my computer and transferred the
crushing metal song “Hexagram” to the PSP. The meta data for the track
stayed intact, showing the track and band name on my screen and,
despite a slight loss in audio resolution, the crushing guitar tone of
Stephen Carpenter and haunting vocals of Chino Moreno were still in
full effect. My stock media card is fairly small at only 32 megs and
even with the largest two-gig card currently available, the PSP isn’t
going to threaten the iPod as the king of MP3 players, but if you have
the room, you’ll surely want to store some music on PSP. The stereo
speakers on the front of the PSP are small and work better for games
than music and movie soundtracks, so you’ll almost always want to use
the included headphones, complete with a volume and disc control unit
on the headphones cable or pick up a pair of aftermarket headphone that
are comfortable.

The DownsideThere
are so many things that are right with the PSP that it’s very hard to
pick fault with it. One flaw that comes to mind is, when playing the
unit with the headphones in and/or the AC adapter plugged in, the cords
attach along the bottom of the unit on each side (the headphones on the
left and the AC adapter to the right). These cords can get in the way
of your thumbs and can be a little distracting. I also found the
battery cover on the back to be a little tricky to open.

As stunning and clear as the 4.3 inch widescreen screen is, watching an
entire two-plus-hour movie can be a little taxing on the eyes. It can
also be taxing on the neck if you are holding the PSP in your lap while
on a plane or car ride. There are companies making aftermarket stands
that allow the PSP to be set back at an angle that make viewing easier,
but I did not test any of these units, as I wanted to see the PSP’s
performance right out of the box.

The front of the PSP is very shiny and can easily get fingerprints on
it, making it look pretty ugly. If you are a neat freak, you’ll want to
be sure to clean your hands off after eating when playing the PSP to
help avoid this problem. Good luck explaining this to your kids. A
small cloth is provided to clean off the screen. You can alternatively
carefully use a soft lint-free cloth or a cotton shirt to clean it off
as well.

The PSP is a very fragile game system and it can easily be scratched or
broken. A very ugly but important faux leather strap is included for
the user to put around his or her wrist. This gives the owner a
fighting chance if the PSP is accidentally dropped while holding it,
but the fact that a black gaming system comes with an ugly white strap
seems strange. Perhaps the thinking was to match the white ear phones
but, by that theory, the power cord should be white, too. It’s a very
small thing to nitpick, but this game system is very close to being
perfect and a black wrist strap is something I wish it had. Aftermarket
wrist straps are also available should you not dig the white one.
Conclusion:
How the PSP Has Made My Life BetterJust
a few days ago, my car needed its 50,000 mile servicing, so I headed
down to my local car dealer. I figured this would be a great real world
test for the PSP. The car servicing was going to take about three hours
and I didn’t have a ride home. I grabbed the PSP, put it in its
protective neoprene travel case and tossed it in my car with the
headphones, a few games and movies and the AC adapter, just in case the
battery wasn’t going to make it.

In the dealership’s
service waiting room, I looked on the end tables at the stacks of
tattered magazines and newspapers that I would normally thumb through.
I sat down, put the headphone cord in and powered up the PSP. You’ll
need to know that kids that will flock to you and want to either see
what you are playing or watching and some will even be so bold as to
ask if they can play, too. This wasn’t a big problem as it was 7:30 AM
on a Saturday morning, but I saw a few young eyes glaring at me in the
waiting room as if to say, “When is it my turn?”

As I played golf, baseball, watched a few movie clips and listened to a
song or two, the entertainment was flowing as was the sand through the
hourglass. Before I knew it, the service tech tapped me on the shoulder
in the middle of the fifth inning of my second baseball game of the day
and informed me that my car was done. I took one of the most mundane
tasks of sitting around and waiting for my car to be serviced and
turned it into an opportunity to catch many of the great scenes from
the beautiful and epic martial arts movie “Hero”
(Miramax) and to add two more wins to my Dodgers 2005 season that I am
playing out on the PSP. Long story short, it ended up being three of
the fastest hours of my life that could have been among the longest.
Sure, I could have read a book or listened to an iPod to pass the time,
but with the PSP, the wait is much more compelling.